There have been efforts to develop compositions useful to correct defects in skin such as scars and wrinkles or to augment the tissue of a subject in order to improve the appearance of the skin, particularly facial skin. The principal method employed to correct such defects involves injecting a filler composition into the dermal layer of the skin proximate to the effect or desired tissue augmentation.
The hyaluronic acid is the major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM). It is thus found in large quantities mainly in the skin. It is also the major physiological component of the articular cartilage matrix and is particularly abundant in synovial fluid.
Accordingly, the hyaluronic acid, in its acid or salt form, is a biomaterial largely used as injectable filler material for tissue engineering application and especially for augmentation of dermal tissue or other soft tissue like gingival tissue.
Hyaluronic acid is a linear non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan composed of repeating units of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (Tammi R., Agren U M., Tuhkanen A L., Tammi M. Hyaluronan metabolism in skin. Progress in Histochemistry & Cytochemistry 29 (2): 1.-81, 1994).
In the skin, hyaluronic acid is primarily synthesized by dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes (Tammi R., cited above). Through its residues bearing a negative charge, hyaluronic acid acts as a water pump for maintaining the elasticity of the skin.
In addition, the ECM is a dynamic structure with a structural and regulatory role for the tissues. The ECM is composed of collagen and elastin and also fundamental substance, mainly water, minerals and proteoglycans. This matrix gives to the skin its turgor and mechanical properties of firmness, elasticity and tone.
Regarding the skin, it is noticed that, with age, the amount of hyaluronic acid and its degree of polymerization decreases, resulting in a decrease in the amount of water retained in the connective tissue.
Meanwhile, ECM components are degraded, mainly by endopeptidase type enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases or MMPs.
Finally, decreases in cellular defenses increase damage and disorders induced by external stresses such oxidative stress.
The skin is then subjected to an aging process leading to the appearance of defects and blemishes of keratinous substances, in particular of the skin.
In the field of wrinkle fillers, gels consisting mainly of hyaluronic acid, the case arising chemically crosslinked, are injected intradermally to fill the depression dug by the ride. The crosslinking can increase the persistence of the product within the dermis. Such gels based on hyaluronic acid, if necessary crosslinked, allow a reduction of wrinkles by the mechanical effect of the filler resulting from the vacuum skin wrinkle.
However, it is known that the injection of such gels often produces a painful sensation for the patient, this sensation being further exacerbated more the gel is highly viscous and/or elastic.
Today, so as to overcome this technical problem, the main fillers based on hyaluronic acid are available with a local anesthetic agent to ensure greater patient comfort. This local anesthetic agent is only lidocaine, with a dosage of about 0.3%.
However, it is known that lidocaine may display the disadvantage, regarding its vasodilatory properties, to imply a too rapid absorption by the patients body and sometimes an exacerbated occurrence of hematoma which are, for obvious aesthetic reasons, to be avoided as much as possible. A solution to overcome the above-mentioned problems may consist to implement the lidocaine in association with a vasoconstrictor, in particular epinephrine (J. Endod. 2013 May; 39(5):597-9). However, the presence of a vasoconstrictor like epinephrine may require adding a preservative which isn't always inert with respect to the patient and may conduct to allergies.
Therefore, it remains a need to develop gels consisting mainly of hyaluronic acid, the case arising chemically crosslinked, which overcomes the above-mentioned technical problems of the painful sensation for the patient during the injection and which also do not involve any problem of allergies nor exacerbated occurrence of hematoma.